


Persephone's Lament

by Natterina



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Angst, F/M, Forced Marriage, implied slavery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-01
Updated: 2015-10-01
Packaged: 2018-04-24 07:47:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4911211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Natterina/pseuds/Natterina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Whilst trying to contact one of the Evanuris, Solas has an unexpected meeting with the new bride of Falon'Din.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Persephone's Lament

“You should have taken me with you.”

The words come from a broken Lavellan’s throat, and Solas can do nothing more than stare in horror. She stands before him, a broken beauty, dolled up to the max as the world burns around them.

The bride of a spiteful Falon'Din.

He had left her at the mirror knowing his path would lead him to death and that she would live a better life without him, but he is now faced with the reality that her fate is far, far worse than death.

Solas _had_ been the lucky one.

The Evanuris had been so appalled at the state of the world when he tore down the Veil that his punishment had been relegated as a secondary concern. They had locked him up and, instead of tearing the world apart and ending it as he had hoped, they had gone back to their old mindset and started trying to take the world back from the humans they had never before encountered. Tevinter had been the first to come under attack, from both demons and fire, and a group of increasingly powerful Evanuris.

And he, while he bemoaned how all his plans went wrong, did not even think about Lavellan’s safety, sure as he was that she would be safely tucked away by the time his plan came to fruition. In reality, she had been captured and leashed in a fate worse than death. Solas had been released by his agents a year after the Evanuris had locked him away, and he immediately sought out the first Evanuris he could find.

In a magically altered castle in the area of Thedas that Falon'Din had carved out for himself, Solas did not expect to find Lavellan in the elaborate halls of the mage’s home.

A bright, flowing dress covers her form, the colour catching the veilfire lamps in ways that make her look ethereal. Her hair is elaborately braided and pinned to her head, darker and thinner than it had ever been when he knew her. Her right wrist holds a silver and blue bracelet which Solas first thinks to be largely decorative, until he realises it is a cruel mana inhibitor which prohibits her from performing any magic.

Most surprisingly, however, is her left arm. He had removed it at the elbow himself, letting his magic disintegrate it in her armour when he realised it was killing her all those years ago. But now he can see that she has an artificial arm, manufactured from pure magic. It looks real, but Solas can tell by looking at it that Lavellan cannot control it past any minor functions.

Winding around the arm, stark and green against the pale white glow of the magic, is an elaborate and intricate version of Falon'Din’s vallaslin, adapted for her arm.

The gold ring adorning her finger only confirms what the elaborate finery has caused him to suspect.

Solas inhales sharply at the sight of her, wandering the hallways of the great home. Lavellan turns in the direction of the sound, her body tensing but her bare face betraying no fear, and Solas finds himself leaving the shadows to meet her.

“ _You_.” It is a panicked, breathy tone that leaves her lips, and Solas finds himself cradling her in his arms with an anchor of guilt in his belly. Lavellan pushes him off her with her right hand, shaking her head.

“You should not have come here, Solas.” Eyes hard, Lavellan glances around the hallway to ensure they are alone. Solas can feel his guilt at her situation tearing him away inside.

“How has this happened to you, vhenan? Why are you here, of all places?” At that a brief flicker of fury flashes across her features before she schools them into a calm expression, but her next words are laced with venom.

“You fool, I was doomed to this the moment I touched the orb in the Temple of Sacred Ashes. The Evanuris wanted to kill me in order to get revenge against you, but Falon'Din knew the best revenge was to spite you this way. I had nowhere to run: I could not reach you, and no port would offer me safe harbour. The humans have wanted my blood since the day you tore the veil down and it was revealed I had let you go at the Eluvian. I had _no choice_ , Solas.”

“I…” He finds himself lost for words for the first time in years. He can think only of the justifications he had for leaving her, and how they seem so pathetic in the face of her fate. “I only ever wanted to keep you safe. I thought, by keeping you away from me-”

“You thought wrong. I would have been safe with you. If you wanted me safe,  _you should have taken me with you_.” The words are bitter and cold, and Solas feels it like a stab to the heart. He thinks of all those signs his agents had told him she had left him, the cries for help that he had assumed were only ploys to lure him to her so she could try to talk him out of the plan.

“I am sorry, vhenan.” He pours his emotions into it, knowing it will never be enough but praying for her forgiveness none the less. She does not give it to him.

“What good are your apologies, Solas? Your apologies won’t take this bracelet off my wrist, they won’t give me my magic back, won’t free me from these  _chains_. I am trapped in the home of this war monger forever, living with a powerful elf who feeds off the death of many. I am the wife of the God of death, and your apologies mean nothing to me.”

The words are sharp, meant to hurt, and her last sentence hammers home to Solas just how much his mistakes have cost him. He swore to her that he would never forget her, but he had left her unprotected and desperate, and now she is doomed to a fate he would not wish on his worst enemy. Solas wants to hold her, to take her in his arms and make the pain go away, but it will never be enough to make up for this.

“I was… This was a mistake, vhenan, but I can fix it, I can find a way to get you away from-”

“Haven’t you  _ruined_  the world enough trying to fix your mistakes! You made a mistake with the Evanuris, so you tried to free them. You made a mistake in freeing them when they did not destroy the world as you hoped, so you turn up here no doubt trying to manipulate Falon'Din to start some sort of infighting. You made a mistake leaving me at the Eluvian, but stop interfering before you make my life even worse!

'I don’t want your apologies, I don’t want anything from you. I don’t want any more failed hopes.” Something inside of Lavellan breaks then, and she finally lets him hold her as their hearts shatter into pieces. He wants to take her away with him now, flee whilst they can without a care about his original plan in coming here. But Solas knows she does not trust him, and she would not leave with him until she did. No matter her misery, she would at least be alive here.

“I love you Solas, and I always will. But it is far, far too late for us now.” No tears have been shed, but Lavellan feels the weariness of sobs deep in her bones.

“I will save you from this, vhenan.”

“You won’t. Your goals are far beyond me, you will forget and I will be only a blip in your existence. You should leave, Solas, before the God of the Dead returns. He will not take kindly to seeing you in his home.”

Lavellan does not look back as he forces himself to walk away. She stands by the veilfire lights, looking tense but composed, and refuses to look back at him. Solas feels his heart getting heavier with every step he takes away from her, but he must leave in order to find a way to save her.

As the elvhen army advances on Tevinter, the last remaining opponent to the Evanuris, Solas knows he must race to find a way to free Lavellan before she loses her worth to Falon'Din.


End file.
